


Jet Pack Blues

by FrankieQuinn13



Series: Leo-Overs [6]
Category: Lab Rats (TV 2012), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Memory Loss, Older Man/Younger Man, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Lab Rats: The Vanishing, Secret Identity, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 17:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10972416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrankieQuinn13/pseuds/FrankieQuinn13
Summary: Sequel to the Hero and the AssassinThe Avengers get some new talent in the aftermath of Ultron's attack





	Jet Pack Blues

**Author's Note:**

> P.S: let’s just pretend like SHIELD wasn’t completely in ruins after the whole HYDRA infiltration deal. 
> 
> Usual apologies
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own any rights to either of these fandoms

“Chase, what happened to your face?!” Leo asked with a gasp as he stared at the quickly swelling bruise beneath the super genius’ left eye with wide eyes but Chase just shook his head dismissively, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure, because it doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Leo asked skeptically with a frown while his eyes narrowed down at the two standing a few feet behind Chase in question while they spoke to Mr. Davenport. “What the heck were you guys doing back there?”

Chase took a deep breath, trying to ignore the ache in his cheek in favor of focusing on Leo and what he wanted to say instead. The bruise didn’t matter, not really anyway and besides even Chase can admit that he deserved it.

It’s all over.

Giselle’s been defeated, Marcus won’t be making another appearance any time soon, the bionic students were now fully rehabilitated from their evil ways and according to Mr. Davenport Adam, Bree, Chase and Leo’s training is officially complete and now they have a new mission, a mission that will require them to split up and go their separate ways.

Two of them will go back to the academy and the other two will join the new team that Mr. Davenport will be leading. The last thing that they want to do is split up, but they understand the scientist’s reasons for doing it so although it hurt to have to say goodbye, they all knew that it was going to be for the best.

So really all that was left for them to figure out was who would be leaving and who would be staying behind at the academy.

Of course Bree immediately volunteered to leave since she’s always wanted to get out and see the world and Leo had planned on just staying behind since he was officially over his hero-ego trip and wanted to help with the students back at the academy instead, but Chase had other ideas. Ideas which led to him getting punched in the face by Adam about ten minutes ago.

Chase wanted to leave too, but Adam decided that he’d rather stay, which would have Chase and Bree going on the mission while Adam and Leo stayed behind, but Chase was really hoping that he and Leo would get to go on the new mission together.

It’s been months since the Andrew Sullivan incident and even longer before that since Sebastian and in that time he and Leo have gotten closer and Chase was back to hoping that he and Leo could finally be together again. But Leo was still resistant, partly because he was still hurt because of Chase’s betrayal and partly because he still hadn’t let go of _him_ yet. The boy never said anything but Chase could tell that Leo was still hung up on Andrew or James or whatever the hell his real name was.

Chase was sure that Leo could forgive him that they could be what they used to be again if the boy could just let go and forget about him, but he also knew that Leo would never be able to do that as long as he stayed at the academy. There were too many reminders of the past and everything that happened not only between him and Chase but between him and Andrew as well. The only way to get through to Leo would be to get him away from the island and away from the other bionic kids.

If he could just get Leo to focus on him, to remember how good they were when they were together then he knew that everything would work out and he’d have Leo again. That’s why he pulled Adam and Bree aside and asked… no begged them to agree to let Chase go on the mission with Leo.

At first Bree flat out refused since she’s been waiting to get her chance to leave and see the world since forever and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let the chance pass her by just because Chase asks. Adam didn’t really seem to mind either way, although he was curious as to why Chase wanted so badly for Leo to be the one to go with him and Chase had no choice but to tell them.

He told them about everything from the moment he realized that he liked Leo right up until Sebastian’s betrayal. He didn’t tell them about Andrew Sullivan since that was something he’s sure that Leo wouldn’t want anyone to know about, not that Chase was all that keen on talking about it either.

Andrew Sullivan was a mistake, a mistake that he never wants Leo to think about, ever again.

Still, despite the slight omission, his confession still earned him a punch right to the face courtesy of Adam Davenport just before Bree glared down at him. Neither one of his siblings were happy with what he’d done.

They knew about his relationship with Sebastian, with how intense they always were around each other, it would’ve been hard not to notice, they just didn’t know that Leo got burned during the course of that relationship.

Bree was especially upset since she then realized that he was the reason why Leo has been so off lately and that made both of them even more reluctant to let him go anywhere alone with Leo especially since Chase knew about Leo’s past and how something like that would affect him. The super genius tried to just take it in his stride as he picked himself up since he knew he deserved that. But the super genius also explained that he wanted to make things right between him and Leo, that he wanted to use this mission as a way for them to reconnect and for him to earn back the other boy’s trust and so Adam and Bree both reluctantly agreed, with the threat that they would make Chase pay if he hurt Leo all over again and Chase couldn’t help but smile as he suddenly remembered that they cared about Leo just as much as he did, although it’s not exactly in the same way. It made the idea of splitting up that much more painful but Chase tried to focus on the good that all of that would bring. They’d get to go on a new mission, he’d get to push and test out his bionic abilities even further and he’d get a second chance with Leo. Besides they’ll still keep contact, they have video phones and Chase is sure that Mr. Davenport would let them go back to the academy to visit.

For now though, he has Leo and really that’s all that matters.

“Leo,” Chase started, ignoring the boy’s question in favor of taking a step forward and taking the other’s hands in his own as he spoke. Leo just stared at Chase when he did, his body was tense like he was fighting back against the urge to flinch away and the words “bad touch” immediately came to Chase’s mind.

The super genius bit back a sigh as that ache of guilt at his betrayal returned, before ignoring the urge to growl since he knew that Leo wouldn’t react this way if _he_ was the one touching him instead of Chase. But soon that wouldn’t matter, soon they’ll leave the island and eventually Leo would forget. He’d forget and Andrew would never bother them again, Chase made sure of that when those S.H.I.E.L.D agents came to the academy a few months back. As long as agent Romanov keeps her promise then nothing could ever possibly go wrong.

“I know things between us have been a little, rocky lately and it’s all my fault.” The super genius started taking a deep breath, “But I really am so sorry and I know it’ll take time for you to forgive me but I don’t mind waiting. I messed up and I hurt you really, really badly, but I want to make it up to you and fix everything I did wrong, so I asked Adam and Bree and they agreed to let us go on the mission together.”

“Together?” Leo started taking a step back and pulling his hands free of Chase’s grip with a frown, “Just the two of us.”

“I know you’re still upset and you have every right to be.” Chase said stepping forward to take Leo’s shoulders in his hands and the boy tensed all over again when the super genius leaned in to kiss his cheek and whispered against his ear. “I’m willing to work to earn your trust again, I’m just asking for a chance that’s all. I miss you and I want us to be together again, like we used to be so can we just give it one more chance? That’s all I’m asking for.”

“A chance.” Chase pulled back and Leo took a deep breath and swallowed hard as he answered, “O.K.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, one more shot.” Leo said and Chase breathed out a sigh of relief as he moved forward to seal their lips in a kiss only for Leo to raise both his hands up and stop him short, “Chase don’t. I need time-“

“I understand, don’t worry.” Chase said with a somewhat forced smile as he took a step back, just relieved that Leo agreed to go with him.

Leo’s giving him a shot so really, Chase can wait. They have all the time in the world.

“So,” Mr. Davenport said behind them with a strained smile of his own as he approached them and they both turned to face him. Adam and Bree already filled him in on what was going on and the scientist planned on having a talk with Chase later but for now, he’s glad that they’re managing to sort out their problems on their own. “I guess you two are going on the mission together then huh?”

“Yeah,” Leo started folding his arms over his chest with a smile, “I guess the students will just have to do without my guidance to help them out.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’ll manage.” Bree said with a roll of her eyes as she stepped forward to pull the other into a tight hug, “I’m sure going to miss you though.”

Leo hugged her back with a soft sigh, “I’m going to miss you too.”

Bree pulled away so Adam could lock Leo in a bear hug and gave Chase a glare before hugging him as well, “I’m not missing out on my chance to see the world for nothing. You’re better than this Chase, so you’d better fix it.”

“I will, I promise.” Chase mumbled out just as they girl pulled back, “I’m going to miss you.”

Chase smiled, “Yeah, I’m going to miss you too.”

Adam stepped up to hug him as well; giving a similar comment as Bree’s only his contained the threat of grievous bodily harm should something go wrong.

“Well, you two should be getting back to the academy.” Donald said as he looked at Adam and Bree with the girl giving an exaggerated sigh while Adam just grinned before turning towards Chase and Leo, “And you two need to get ready for your next mission.”

Chase smiled as he inched a little closer to Leo and the boy took one more deep breath as he took Chase’s hand  surprising the super genius greatly before a beaming smile broke out over his face only for the moment to break when the doors to the labs suddenly hissed as they slid open and they all looked up to see a tall man with dark skin, wearing all black with an honest to God eye patch over his left eye walk in like he owned the place as he was followed closely by two other figures. Mr. Davenport blinked in surprise when he realized that one of the other two was one of the agents that visited the academy a few months ago.

Agent Romanoff.

Chase glared and his hand clenched around Leo’s when the other agent’s eyes slid down to their joint hands and he frowned, while agent Romanoff just glanced at him before looking away.

“Director Fury?” Donald asked in shock as he stepped forward and the agents stopped a few feet away, “How did you get in-… What brings you here?”

“Your security wasn’t hard to bypass. We have some urgent business to discuss with you Davenport.” The man said as he folded his arms behind his back and glanced back at the teens standing behind them, “We’re not interrupting anything are we?”

“No not really, the kids just got back from a mission and Chase and Leo we’re about to get their next assignment-“

“Well then I guess we made it right on time.” Director Fury said with a smirk and his entire frame seemed to relax as he stared back at the scientist who just continued to stare on in confusion, “I just happen to have a new assignment to give your kids as well.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“Well,” Donald paused for a moment before looking back at Adam and Bree. “Chase and Leo already have a mission so I’m sure Adam and Bree or any of our other students can help with whatever you-“

“See now that might be a problem, because I need Adam and _Leo_ to come with me not Adam and Bree.”

Leo blinked in surprise and Bree frowned, “What?”

“Director Fury, Adam and Bree are two of my top students, they are more than capable of-“

“I’m sure that your daughter would be more than capable of taking this assignment; however it’s already been decided and cleared with the board members of S.H.I.E.L.D, which means that Adam Davenport and Leo Dooley are the ones that will have to come with us. I’m afraid you’ll have to get someone else to go on the mission with Chase.”

“Wait a minute,” Leo asked as he stepped forward, letting go of Chase’s hand, “Exactly what kind of assignment is this?”

Director Fury grinned, “Recruitment for the Avengers initiative.”

Donald’s eyes went wide, “What?”

“As you know, we’ve been keeping an eye on your academy over the past few years and we’ve come to see that you have a lot of talent on this island Davenport. And since the Avengers have recently lost a few of its members, one of which lives in another dimension and can’t be depended on to come to earth whenever it’s necessary, not to mention our recent staffing problems at SHIELD, we’ve decided to recruit a few new members. Seeing as how your academy has so much talent we’ve decided to recruit here.”

“O.K but why choose Adam and Leo, why not choose someone else?” Chase asked as he stepped forward as well and the man gave a slight shrug.

“From what we understand, your brother Adam has some incredible abilities, abilities that would be put to much better use with the Avengers and as for Leo,” The man said bringing his one eyed gaze over to the boy and causing Leo to jump in slight surprise just as he nodded over to the woman behind him. “He came highly recommended by agent Romanoff. Apparently she saw great potential in Leo the last time she came here, potential that he’ll be able to unlock once he gets some proper guidance. So he’ll be assigned to agent Romanoff for training and Adam will be assigned to agent Rhodes.”

Chase’s head snapped over to the woman and he glared as he asked, “And once they’re trained what happens then?”

“Then, they’ll be considered for the Avengers initiative.” Leo gasped and his eyes went wide while Adam started bouncing in excitement as he grabbed Leo’s arm and brought him in for a one armed hug. A beaming smile broke over Leo’s face.

“So, we’re going to be Avengers?”

“Well, you have to make it through training first, but once you do, the rest will really just be a formality.” Director Fury shrugged but Adam and Leo still shared a fist bump while Bree sighed. “Great, miss one great opportunity after another.”

“It’s alright Bree this just means that you’ll be going on the mission with Chase instead of Leo.” The scientist said and Chase’s eyes went wide, “But Mr. Davenport you can’t be serious.”

Donald gave his son a sympathetic look, Adam and Leo both turned back and Bree sighed, “Chase, this is a really good opportunity for Adam and Leo if they want to go then I won’t stop them. You know I’d do the same for you and Bree.”

“But-“

“Don’t bother kid; they don’t have a choice anyway.” Fury said and Donald frowned, “What do you-“

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten our deal with you Davenport.” Fury said arching a brow at the scientist. “We keep you all safe from the public and let you handle the lesser heroics without being branded vigilantes or being hassled by the authorities in exchange for your bionic services; that includes recruitment.”

“You can’t force these kids to-“

“Oh yes I can, but I‘m hoping that I won’t have to.” The man said giving Adam and Leo a pointed look, Adam hesitated before Leo took a deep breath as he spoke, “I’m in.”

Donald frowned, “Leo-“

“It’s O.K big D; this is a good chance to flex my hero muscles anyway. Plus, I get to join the Avengers, how awesome is that?” Leo said with a smile as he stepped closer to the older man, “Like you said it’s a good opportunity so, I’m in.”

Donald gave a sigh when Adam stepped forward as well, “Yeah, I’m in too. Wouldn’t want Leo to have all the fun.”

“It’s settled then.” Fury said as he turned to leave the room, “Go pack your things kids we leave in twenty minutes.”

Chase’s hands were clenched tight as he glared at the ground.

Just like that, everything’s ruined. Leo’s leaving and Chase’ll never get a second chance. If all goes well Leo won’t have time for him if he joins the Avengers. Just then Chase felt a hand gently wrap around his own and he looked up through his stinging eyes to see Leo standing in front of him, the boy gave him a smile as he stepped closer.

“Can I call a rain check on you making it up to me?”

Chase gave a snort as he shook his head, “Leo, we might never see each other again.”

“Maybe, but-" Leo paused biting his bottom lip before he spoke, “But I just want you to know that I forgive you Chase. The thing with Sebastian, I forgave you months ago. I just… I couldn’t go back to the way things were back then, I’m still not sure I can. Maybe… maybe some time apart is better for us anyway.”

“I don’t want us to be apart.” Chase said as he put both his hands on either side of Leo’s face and the other tried to step out of it but he stepped along with him, “I want what we had before.”

“We can’t have that.”

“Why not?”

“You know why.” Leo swallowed hard when the genius leaned their foreheads together, “Chase you’re making this harder than it needs to be. Let go.”

“I’m not letting go.” Chase said echoing the other’s words from that near fatal mission a few weeks ago and Leo flinched back, “Chase-“

“Excuse me, Leo Dooley right?” the two pulled apart to find agent Rhodes standing beside them. The man glanced at Chase for a moment before giving a smile as he spoke. “Colonel James Rhodes, I guess I’ll be working with your brother Adam.”

“Uh yeah,” Leo pulled away and tried to compose himself and give a brief smile but Chase kept a tight hold on his hand, “Good luck with that by the way, Adam’s a hand full.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” James said with a slight chuckle when his eyes landed on their joined hands and he cleared his throat, “You should get going. Director Fury doesn’t like waiting. He might just send someone to drag you out of here kicking and screaming.”

Leo gave a short laugh a he looked back at Chase and sighed before moving to press a kiss on his cheek, lingering only for a moment before he pulled away, “Bye Chase.” and followed Adam back to get their things while agent Rhodes paused to give him a look before walked away as well.

“He’s a good kid; he’ll do well with the Avengers.”

Chase looked up to find agent Romanoff standing beside him and he glared, “You lied to me.”

“No I didn’t.” the redhead said folding her arms across her chest, “I promised you that Leo would have nothing to do with what was going on three months ago and he didn’t. I kept my word.”

“So you want me to believe that Andrew Sullivan has nothing to do with this?”

“Yes, because he doesn’t. Like director Fury said, I see potential in Leo. He’d be able to use that potential once he got the right training and S.H.I.E.L.D is willing to give him that. Andrew Sullivan has very little to do with my choice of trainee.”

“Then why are you taking him away?” Chase asked with pleading eyes and the agent just held his gaze as he continued, “We were going to leave, I was going to make him happy-“

“Leo’s needed elsewhere.”

“You really mean Leo’s needed with _him_ , right?”

The agent sighed, “I said it once and I’ll say it again. He has very little to do with why I chose Leo as my trainee. The last time I came here I saw a lot of promise in him, but he’s not using it here. This academy doesn’t have what it takes to help him reach his full potential but S.H.I.E.L.D does.”

“Look kid, its better this way.” The woman said as she walked away, “Dooley’s right, you could use the time apart. If you two are meant to be together then his leaving won’t make a difference. But with the way you are right now, you might end up hurting him a lot more than you would apart.”

With that agent Romanoff walked away and Bree went up to Chase to put a hand on his shoulder with a sigh, “She’s right; maybe a little time apart would be better… for both of you.”

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Adam and Leo were in the back of the ship, talking excitedly about their new mission as the rocket fueled machine sped through the cloudy skies high above the ocean. Director Fury was in the cock pit with Clint and Natasha sat near the back next to Rhodey flipping through a file, while the Colonel sat with his own file in his hands, trying and failing to keep his eyes on the pages before him and not glancing back at the two teenagers prattling on behind them.

Natasha gave a snort as she nudged his arm with her elbow and Rhodey jumped in surprise, “Hey, staring’s rude you know.”

“I wasn’t staring.”

“Sure, just like you didn’t break up Leo’s little heart to heart with his brother on purpose just before we left.” The woman said with a smirk and Rhodey just sighed as he glanced back at the boy one more time, “I know about the drama that happened between those three while agent Barnes was still on the island. If the kid’s going to do well then he needs to keep his head in the game.”

Natasha paused for a moment, “You think he’s going to be a problem?”

“I think you’re going to need to tell him about Bucky before he finds out himself.”

“It’s too soon.”

“It wasn’t too soon when you and Steve were recommending him to be an agent.”

Natasha paused, “Steve thought Leo could help bring him back.”

“So you got him for Bucky.” Rhodey deadpanned with a sigh, “That’s not enough reason to drag him into this. He’s too young to be doing this Nat. Bionics or no bionics.”

Natasha watched the man beside her for a moment before letting out a soft sigh as she looked back down at the file in her hands, “I didn’t ask for Leo because of Steve you know.”

Rhodey arched a brow at the woman, “Really? The way Steve was going on before all this happened I figured-“

“Yeah well you figured wrong.” Natasha just shook her head as she settled on a page and started reading, “For the last time. The kid has potential; Davenport and his academy don’t have the edge that’s needed to help Dooley reach it. So far his training has been focused on helping him learn to use that bionic arm and leg, but nothing’s been done about harmonizing his bionic half with his human half, showing him how to work with both no matter the situation and increasing his abilities. Honestly, his entire training regimen is sloppy at best. It’s like Davenport has no idea what he’s doing.” Natasha said with a cringe as she turned to the next page, “But that day at the academy he used his entire body when he was training not just his bionic half and took down someone twice as powerful as he was. That move he used was obviously Bucky’s doing, that’s proof that he doesn’t have the right guidance at the academy. Dooley’s going to do great things with the Avengers; he just needs someone to show him how.”

“Are you going to be that person?”

Natasha looked up at Rhodey before shaking her head, “I’m just going to give him the tools to make it, what he does with them is all up to him. Besides, you’re training Adam remember, don’t tell me you honestly think Davenport was doing better with him at the academy.”

Rhodey shrugged, “There’s something to be said about working with family, having support nearby-”

“There’s also something to be said about having too much support. They need to be pushed if they’re actually going to start doing better.”

At that the soldier frowned, “They’re just kids, Nat’.”

“Kids with superhuman abilities.” The woman sighed, “Someone needs to teach them how to use them and not just let them run around with absolutely no idea how to control themselves. I’m surprised they lasted this long without causing some kind of disaster. From what I know, both Adam and Leo have ‘glitched’ multiple times a couple of those times they put other people’s lives in jeopardy because they glitched. Dooley almost destroyed the island, because Davenport didn’t make sure he fully understood how his bionics worked instead of just expecting his not-dead-brother to do it for him. It’s again, sloppy, and he’s the one handling a school full of unstable bionic kids.”

Rhodey gave a sigh, she makes a good point.

“Director Fury picked Adam because he’s by far the most powerful student on the island, superhuman strength, heat vision, enhanced durability, plasma grenades, underwater breathing and who knows what other abilities he hasn’t discovered yet. This kid is a one man army. Honestly I’m scared of what might have happened if he’d stayed at the academy.” Natasha sighed, “And then there’s Leo, superhuman strength but only in his right arm and leg, plasma sphere’s, energy absorbing abilities, he almost died once while using his energy transference ability, rendered another student blind when they used a combination attack to generate an EMP and again almost destroyed the island because Davenport didn’t just tell him about the need for a capsule. If he knew that Leo needed one then why not build the kid one himself, why sit there and watch as Dooley turned into a ticking time bomb? Not to mention all the other disasters that happened that could have been solved if he’d been just a little bit less negligent. Still think they’re better off on the island?”

“You’ve made your point.”

Natasha let out a sigh of her own, “Look, we won’t try to force them into doing anything they don’t want to, but they’re better off here than there. If I had it my way we would’ve brought the other kids but there’s only room for two at a time. Adam could turn into a huge threat if left unchecked and Leo could end up killing himself and taking civilians with him. They’re the biggest threats on that island but they also have the most potential. They’ll make great Avengers, they just need a little help first.”

 

~ ONE YEAR LATER ~

 

Bucky huffed out quick panting breaths as he ran across the airplane hangar, weaving in and out between the bright gleaming jets and helicopters that sat parked all around the large room, trying to outrun the man he knew was following close behind him while the loud sounds of explosions, clashing metal and grunts of fighting came from the room he just left and the outside surrounding the building.

About a year has passed since the royal fuck up in Germany that left him and most of the Avengers’ team ostracized and cast as vigilantes. For the most part Bucky didn’t particularly care about what people thought of him, he’s been running ever since he found out about his past and exactly the kind of people his so called masters were. He’d been running for that long, that a couple more years  didn’t seem to matter and besides that the idea of being caught and being brought to justice for his crimes didn’t bother him as much as it should have. After all, even if he wasn’t in his right mind when he did all of those things and killed all those people, he did still did it, he was dangerous and there was no telling what would set him off next.  So he didn’t really care about himself but he did feel guilty about dragging Steve and the others into the mess as well since he knew that they probably wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for him.

So when Black Panther offered him an escape by going back under the ice Bucky took it without another thought, thinking that maybe things for Steve and the others might get better if he wasn’t around to complicate them.

Of course nothing can be that easy, can it.

Bucky ducked his head down and turned another way when a blast of energy was suddenly fired in his path and he was forced to turn another way, down under the tail of a helicopter towards the hangar doors on the other side. A few months back they somehow found out exactly where he was being kept and Black Panther was forced to wake him from his stasis sleep so they could all escape. Bucky hadn’t been particularly pleased about the turn in events but he accepted it for what it was and got out as soon as possible. Of course Prince T’Challa didn’t just let him go without a means of protecting himself.

They gave him a new arm, one better than the one he got from HYDRA; it was stronger with a couple of nifty little functions including the signature use of Wakanda’s Vibranium, but strangely enough, Bucky kind of liked the old one better. When he got out he found out that Steve and the others have been on the run since he went under. They were hiding out in different spots all across the globe only coming out when there was trouble or when they were needed. Unfortunately all they got for all their efforts were charges of property damage, reckless endangerment and a big fuck you from the government.

Yeah things were not going well.

But Steve was still optimistic, he thought that things might turn around if Tony just managed to see things from their perspective and realized the danger that this accord really held. Bucky wasn’t as optimistic but he figured he could at least play along, if only to hold out for his best friend.

Another blast and Bucky was forced to turn another way. He could hear and feel Ant man stomping around outside and probably doing more damage than he needed to while laser fire that could only come from Tony and Rhodey rang against the steel walls.

They’re in Russia this time.

Apparently a military test exercise went horribly wrong somehow, causing three jets to be sent to the wrong coordinates carrying live nuclear fire and so the Avengers were called in to remedy the situation. Of course there was a very real chance that they wouldn’t make it in time to stop the bombs from dropping so Natasha called Clint to tell them about the imminent disaster. Surprisingly enough, despite the fact that they were on opposite sides and were constantly trying to capture and possibly kill one another, they still managed to stay friends.

Friendship goals.

Bucky could only wish that things could have been the same for Steve and Tony.

Steve never really talked about it, but Bucky could tell that the rift between him and Tony was eating away at him but he didn’t mention it for fear of making an already bad situation worse.

They managed to neutralize the nukes, save the pilots and stop the jets from crashing into any civilian areas, instead aiming the crashes for an air field a couple of miles outside of the nearest town. Unfortunately the moment the threat to countless civilian lives had been neutralized, the pleasantries were ended and they started fighting all over again.

They are still wanted fugitives after all.

Another blast and Bucky was forced to make a turn around a shiny red convertible parked near the end of the hangar. He’s being steered into a trap and he knows it, but the guy chasing him was fast, not inhumanly fast but still fast enough that James couldn’t get a clear shot at him without leaving himself open for attack so he figured he’d let the guy corner him they’d show themselves and they’d finally be on equal ground.

All he needs is one shot.

Another shot and this time Bucky hissed since it hit dangerously close, just missing his right arm and hitting the wing of another plane instead. He couldn’t be sure if that one was intentional or not all he knows is that it was a sign that the chase was almost over.

Bucky stopped at the next turn and he found himself staring at a corner before turning back just as a loud thud rang out through the small area.

There was a figure perched up on top of the jet just behind him, he was dressed in an all-black suit that had red stripes going down the sides and covered his right arm and a black mask covering his face, not unlike the one he used to wear when he was still working for HYDRA only this one covered the guy’s entire head and had a red spider painted on the left side of the mask.

The figure watched him for a moment and Bucky stood still, with his hands ready to grab one of the guns he had in his holsters while simultaneously charging up the electric charge in his metal arm when the figure jumped down and landed with a loud crash that left an impressive dent in the shiny concrete floors, causing them to crack and split open while cement crackled out from beneath this feet. The figure rose from his crouch and said nothing for a moment as he just stared back at him.

“James Buchanan Barnes, you are under arrest for crimes against the United States of America and other affiliated countries. I order you to stand down.”

The figure said clearly not making a move. His voice was distorted, like he was talking through an electric device of some sort obviously meant to disguise his voice, so James knew that whoever this was had a lot to lose should their identity be revealed, so he couldn’t just stop at a mask to hide his face. For a brief moment James wondered who it was because admittedly he’s been curious about this particular Avenger.

He was new, came in a few months after he went under from what Clint and the others told him. He was strong, fast and smart although he also held a strange sort of naivety. Bucky could tell from the conversations in between fights that he’d catch the Avenger having with Tony, Spider-man and Rhodey and those short little quips he made when he was fighting an opponent. He was obviously young and inexperienced as were most of the new recruits that Tony was bringing into the Avengers these days only this kid had a bit more of an edge to him than Spider-man did. According to Clint he started out as Black Widow’s apprentice before he was brought into the Avengers, along with his brother who trained with Rhodey strangely enough.

Speak of the devil.

There was a loud crash outside of the hangar and the ground shuddered just as Ant-man’s giant form went down and Bucky’s gaze flickered up towards the windows near the top of the structure and he watched as the figure clad in a black and blue suit like the one his bother wore and the same black mask leap through the air to deliver a punch to the giant. Strength wise they learnt that a giant Ant-man was the only one that could match up to the kid.

The ground shuddered again but the figure before him didn’t so much as flinch as he kept that masked gaze focused on him.

“I’ll say this one more time, stand down.”

Bucky resisted the urge to tilt his head in curiosity, since this kid really did interest him, there was something about him, he couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was but it was important. It wasn’t just his behavior, how he could go from an arrogant little big shot when he was fighting everyone else only to go serious and deadly silent when he went after Bucky or the fact that the kid would hold back when fighting him only to suddenly give it everything he got when he went up against anyone else.

There was something about him, James just couldn’t figure out what it was.

God, he hopes he didn’t kill this one’s parents too.

“A little young to be in a place like this aren’t you kid?” Bucky asked as he took a step to the side but the other kept still and just watched him.

“I’m old enough.”

“And how old is that?”

“Old enough to take you down and drag your ass back, old man. I have a name too you know, this whole kid thing is getting old.”  Bucky arched a brow at that and almost gave a snort although he could almost feel something pricking at the back of his mind at the tone in the figures voice, almost urging him to remember something.

“Well what’s your name?”

The figure paused, “Arachne.”

“Arachne? Apprentice to _Black Widow_?”

“I like spiders.” The kid said and this time Bucky couldn’t help but tilt his head, “I knew a kid that had a thing for spiders once, skinny little ragdoll he was a real brat too, I think you two would get along great.”

This time Bucky paused to take in a silent breath, he tries not to think about him anymore, it’s been more than a year after all the kids probably got a whole new life now. Besides what happened between them was, it was a mistake.

Leo… he is better off without him. Knowing just how dangerous he is, James didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Leo ever got mixed up with any of this mess.

The kid was quiet for another moment before he spoke. “This is your final warning. Stand down.”

“I’m sorry but we both know that I can’t do that.”

“Then I’ll make you.” The words were barely out of his mouth before Arachne suddenly leaped up into the air, going up so far he almost reached the ceiling and Bucky’s eyes widened a bit as he aimed a punch at the other man, coming down so fast the assassin couldn’t do more than move out of the way and the kid crashed down into the ground, causing a crater like the one he’d made earlier. James reached for his gun and immediately spun around to fire three shots and the kid rolled out of the way missing two of the shots before blocking out the last one with what looked like a force field coming from his right arm.

James’ eyes narrowed down at the kids arm before they were suddenly moving again as an energy blast was fired at him and he ducked down out of the way to lunge forward towards the plane in front of them for cover, when his arm suddenly tingled and he knew the charge was at maximum capacity. It was a little extreme but Bucky knew that the electric charge would just knock the kid out for a couple of minutes; he had no intention of killing him. No, despite what Tony might believe, Bucky doesn’t do that anymore and those gunshots he fired wouldn’t have killed the kid, just injured him enough for Bucky to get away.

It was right in the middle of these thoughts that Bucky suddenly heard the telltale sounds of footsteps against the very plane that he stood against and he looked up to find Arachne crawling on the side of the plane, seeming to defy gravity as he used his right arm and left leg to anchor him to the side while the other arm and leg were leverage.

“Well that’s new.”

“You’re not the only one that got an upgrade.” The kid said before lunging towards him and Bucky ducked out of the way, swiftly spinning around to catch the other’s arm with the metal one only for the kid to duck down and land a punch in his side before going down to sweep his feet out from under him and use the momentum to press his right arm against his chest and force his crash to go even faster.

Bucky let out a loud grunt of pain, breathing hard as he tried to catch his breath to find the kid on top of him straddling his waist as he kept his left arm pinned to the ground while his own right arm was raised with bright yellow energy glowing faintly from it aimed right at the assassins form.

For another moment he had to force himself to focus on the situation and not think about Leo.

“Stand down.”

“Wow, another one with spider abilities.” Bucky asked trying to make sure his next move wouldn’t be so obvious that he’d get caught, “I’m guessing this spider fetish has something to do with the other kid am I right?”

Arachne almost seemed to pull back, “What?”

“I like spiders.” Bucky repeated with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Spider-man, Arachne, and now you can walk on walls to and from what I can tell you spend a lot of time together. What is he your boyfriend?”

Bucky could practically feel the flush of heat and the widening of the kids eyes as he pulled back, “I-.. You-look he’s sort of cute but I don’t-… Shut up!"

Arachne suddenly gasped when Bucky used the distraction to flip them over and surprisingly enough only he seemed to let out a crackled huff of annoyance when Bucky pinned his right arm down and straddled his waist.

“Great.”

“Nothing personal, but I can’t let you take me in.” Bucky said pressing his metal hand down on the other’s shoulder and releasing the charge and the kid tensed beneath him as the electric surge passed through but instead of staying tense he broke the hold Bucky had on his right arm and wrapped the hand around Bucky’s left hand and the charge suddenly stopped.

“What the-“

Still breathing hard beneath him, Arachne pulled the hand off his shoulder aiming it back at James’ chest.

“My turn.”

And suddenly the charge released this time flowing back into Bucky and the assassin fell back as the current passed through him, barely lasting more than three seconds but feeling like it went on for eternity. James’ body started convulsing on the ground, arching off the ground with his jaw tight, before turning on his side to brace his arm on the ground and look up at the figure now standing over him. Arachne’s hand started to glow.

“Spider-man’s just a friend, but you know…I knew a man like you too once.” The kid said and his voice dropped to an odd tone that Bucky could pick out even as his body slowly recovered from the pain, he hasn’t felt pain like that since HYDRA.

“He was a sleazy old man, a total perve. Thought the whole dark mysterious stranger thing was cool. I have no idea what I saw in him. He was always keeping secrets.” The kid gave a snort when his arm almost seemed to sag as he continued, “One day he left and he never came back… you know what sucks though?”

The kid paused and Bucky almost frowned since it almost seemed like he was actually waiting for an answer, but the agent just pushed himself up on his arms as he tried to stand as Arachne continued.

“I still care about him, even though he probably doesn’t care about me.”

“Ngh-he sounds like an asshole.” Bucky said with a groan as he slowly got up to face the other still weary of the next attack but the other just watched him with his arm raised and his hand still glowing.

“He is.” The kid answered without missing a beat. “He’s an asshole and I hate him.”

“Then why not just move on.” There was a brief moment when Bucky realized how out of place this whole scene was since they were trying to take each other apart a few seconds ago. Usually when they fought against each other the other Avengers were around. Steve was around or Sam or Natasha and there were just other things distracting them, but this time it was just them. Of course the sounds of gunfire and fighting were still there, but they were almost a soft hum of background noise and James felt that itching in the back of his head trying to remind him of something all over again as he clutched his arm where the pain from the charge still lingered.

Arachne took in a deep breath and spoke with a croak to his voice, “ _Because I hate you_ , I hate you so much I think I’m in love with you.”

Bucky blinked in surprise, “What?”

The kid dropped his arm and the glowing stopped, “You have sixty seconds.”

“What-“

“Sixty seconds. The next time I catch you it’ll be for keeps. Now go.” The kid said turning back to walk down the hangar and Bucky’s expression twisted in confusion until he moved forward to grab his arm.

“Wait a minute,” Arachne wrenched his arm free only for Bucky to catch it all over again and force him to a stop, “Stop. Do I know you?”

“What part of go don’t you understand?” The kid growled as he wrenched his arm free again and started walking backwards, “Leave, before I’m forced to take you in.”

“Not until you tell me who you are.”

“I said go!”

Alright enough.

Without a second thought Bucky moved forward to grab the edge of the mask on the kid’s face and yank it off only to freeze at who he saw.

“L-Leo?” the mask hit the floor with a clatter, somehow sounding so much louder in the large room despite the loud noises coming from just outside the building. Bucky’s mind was a haze of confusing thoughts as the teen stared back at him with tear filled eyes.

“How… when-“

“You need to go, right now.” Leo said taking a step back.

He was… different.

Taller, they were just about the same height now if anything Leo was maybe just two inches shorter. He’d filled out a little more so he wasn’t so skinny anymore instead having lean muscle to go along with his new height his hair was cut short, with a web design cut just above his ears. But his eyes were the same, still bright and full of life despite the sadness aching in those dark depths and Bucky moved all over again before he could stop himself, pulling the teen closer to crush their lips together in a kiss and Leo tensed up the sudden movement before just as suddenly melting into it, wrapping his arms around Bucky’s neck with a deep moan as he pulled the other man even closer.

There was something that happened just then, Bucky isn’t sure what it was. He just felt so… relieved and almost calm. It’s been almost a year since he last saw Leo and in all honesty Bucky’s missed him despite the fact that they’d only been around each other for a couple of weeks before he returned to HYDRA. Somehow things around Leo were just simpler, calmer…warmer and maybe that’s what Bucky missed most of all, Leo’s warmth. He can’t lie and say he hasn’t been _intimate_ with other people since he was thawed out and found out the truth about his masters along with his past with Steve, because he has. But somehow with Leo it was just different and that difference caused James to momentarily forget where they were and what they were supposed to be doing as he dragged the younger man closer and deepened the kiss even more, completely missing the explosions and sounds of gunfire just beyond the hangar doors. Fortunately Leo wasn’t that far gone.

The younger man seemed to stand a little straighter instead of just leaning against Bucky the way he has been for the past few seconds and lifted his arms to push him away, gasping for breath when his lips were released.

“James… this-this is _so_ not the right time for this.” Leo breathed when the ex-assassin immediately moved to bury his head in the side of Leo’s neck, kissing and biting at his throat while his hands seemed to have moved up to unzip his jacket and Leo shook his head as he pushed him away, managing to get a few inches of space between them, “James stop.”

Bucky moved forward quickly to press one more kiss on his lips before he shut his eyes, one hand on the back of Leo’s head while the other stayed around his waist to pull him close he leaned their foreheads together and took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves as he spoke.

“I missed you.”

Leo said nothing for a moment instead letting his hands rest on Bucky’s shoulders as their heart rates slowed down and their breathing evened out before he suddenly laughed, “Yeah, I figured.”

James gave a snort at that before pulling the teen a little closer to rest his head on Leo’s shoulder and Leo let him. It was strange, he’d tried to push all those memories from the island to the back of his mind since they haven’t really mattered over the past few months. There was just so much going on with HYDRA and Steve and the accord that it just seemed so pointless thinking about that one boy with a special arm that he met that one time. No matter how many times that he’d spoken to the boy and kissed him, laughed with and even fucked a couple of times. But when the mask fell from Leo’s face James remembered one memory in particular one that made him lose all semblance of control and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to grab him and pull him close.

It was a week before he left.

He had a nightmare of all things, when he’d never had a nightmare before. Usually when he went on a mission for HYDRA, he’d only be gone for a few days. Go out, get the target and go back to base, sometimes he wouldn’t even sleep in that time and when he was on a mission that lasted long enough for him to actually need to sleep it was always the dead kind, with no thoughts or visions plaguing him. Just the dark void of nothing before he woke up and just kept on moving.

But agent Barnes had been away for weeks and in that time he’s had plenty of time to sleep although he rarely ever dreamed, until that night.

It was all muddled and confusing and it all went so fast, at first James didn’t know what the hell was going on. And then it suddenly cleared and he saw gunfire heard himself breathing hard as he moved through dark tunnels that were just as suddenly replaced with bright light and snow everywhere suddenly the air was rushing around him and he felt adrenaline surge through his veins he felt like he was falling. Blue eyes and blonde hair was all he saw before he heard voices. Darkness and then dim lighting as he was strapped down and suddenly there was pain, unbearably excruciating pain that felt like his arm was being ripped skin and bone right from its socket. That’s when he heard Leo’s voice where it had no place being.

“James!”

He gasped breathing hard, with wide eyes moving quickly to survey his surroundings only to find himself at the academy, in Leo’s room, on the bed while Leo sat beside him on his knees. The bedside lamp was on and Leo had his hands on the older man’s shoulders as he stared with concern. James breathed a sigh of relief as he shut his eyes when Leo’s spoke.

“What the heck was that?!”

“N-nothing.” James said still trying to catch his breath and Leo frowned, “It didn’t sound like nothing, it sounded like you were having a nightmare.”

“I’m fine.” James said as he turned away, setting his feet down on the wooden floors and the cool feeling that seeped into his skin helped him feel a little more grounded.

“I thought we weren’t doing this whole secrets thing.”

“There’s no secret to tell.” James said shortly as he raked a hand through his hair, “I can’t even remember what was happening.”

It was silent for a moment and James finally felt like he’d gotten a solid grasp on reality when the boy spoke.

“O.K, so who’s Steve?”

James froze, “What?”

The bed shifted as Leo moved off the bed and stood in front of him, still in nothing but a t-shirt and boxers although he seemed a little unsteady on his feet as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “You kept saying Steve over and over again. This isn’t the first time you’ve said it in your sleep either, just the first time you’ve screamed it.”

Suddenly a flash from his dream came back to him. Blonde hair and blue eyes, complete horror in those eyes as James fell further and further away.

“Is he friend?”

“I’m not-" James shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know.” James said with his head snapping up to glare at the boy since his frustration at his own memories was starting to wear on his nerves and Leo’s questions weren’t helping. He’s been having these flashes for weeks since he arrived at the academy, this is the first time he’s ever had a nightmare that he somehow knew wasn’t just a nightmare. They were memories, memories of what James had no idea.

But again Leo’s questions however helpful they may be intended to be weren’t helping. He was getting frustrated and annoyed; he looked up and glared at the boy mere milliseconds from snapping at him when he saw the cut on his cheek, just below his right eye. It was fresh and bleeding and wasn’t there a few hours ago when they fell asleep.

“Look I’m not a little kid James, if Steve is more than a friend then I won’t fall apart if you say so. I just wanna know what’s wron-" Leo was cut off when James suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, causing the teen to almost stumble as he caught himself with one hand on James’ knee and the other on the bed beside him when he suddenly felt cold metal brush against his cheek just under his right eye making it sting ever so slightly.

“Ow.” Leo hissed quietly and James frowned at the blood that gleamed brightly on the thumb of his prosthetic, “Did I do this?”

Leo let out a sigh, “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?”

“It doesn’t hurt much and you still haven’t answered my question.” Leo said brushing the older man’s hand away and James’ jaw clenched as he made to get up, “I need to leave.”

“No! No you’re not going anywhere.” Leo said grabbing James’ arm with his bionic arm to force him back on the bed, “Like I said before its fine.”

“Leo-“

“I know you didn’t mean it.”  Leo said letting out a deep breath and James watched him carefully before he spoke, “This isn’t the first time this has happened is it?”

Leo said nothing and James cursed, “Goddammit, Leo-“

“I said I’m fine didn’t I?”

“How many times?”

“A few times… every time you dream about Steve.”

“And you never told me?”

“This is the first time you’ve actually woken up long enough to notice.” James hissed suddenly remembering all those bruises and scratches he’d see on the boy in the mornings, Leo always got up earlier. Early morning practice he’d say and then when he got back James noticed the marks, Leo would always just laugh it off and say he got knocked down in a spar against one of the other kids.

He should’ve known.

Leo sighed, “Its fine, I’m fine now are you going to tell me what’s going on or am I going to have to figure it out on my own?” 

“Neither.” James said as he immediately got up from the bed and Leo grabbed his arm again, “What part of you’re not leaving do you not understand?”

“The part where I’ve been hurting you in my sleep for who knows how long and you haven’t said a word about it.” James said yanking his arm free as he turned to leave the room, “I knew this was a mistake-“

“A mistake?”

James was barely listening as he grabbed his clothes, mumbling to himself as he went along, “You’re too young, it could’ve been so much worse-“

James was grabbed for a third time only this time Leo didn’t drag him back to the bed, instead spinning around to throw the older man against the wall, catching him completely off guard. James gasped when his back hit the wall only to tense when Leo lifted him up off the ground, still pinning him to the wall by his shoulder which made for an awkward and somewhat painful position while Leo’s eyes narrowed down in a glare.

“I’ll say this one more time. I’m not some little kid. I said I’m O.K and I meant it.”

“Leo-“

“No, ever since this started you’ve been treating me like I’m made from glass. I know you’ve been pulling your punches every time you spar with me, I know you keep holding back on me whenever we fuck-“

James made to open his mouth and ask exactly when Leo started saying that word but the boy kept going.

“And I know you’re trying to leave now cause you think you’re protecting me but-…you told me-you _promised_ that you wouldn’t be Chase.”

James almost flinched back at that since he could see and hear the hurt in Leo’s voice before the teen spoke, “I’m not fragile, and I don’t need you to protect me. I know what I’m doing so just-" At that Leo loosened his grip and let the older man down as he stepped back, “Let me help.”

James said nothing for a moment just stared at the teen in front of him before taking a step forward to pull Leo close and press a kiss on his temple and Leo wrapped his arms around his waist, “I don’t think you can.”

Leo took in a deep breath leaning his head against the older man’s bare chest as he spoke, “Who’s Steve?”

“Someone important.”

“How important?”

“I don’t know.”

Leo tilted his head up and saw the lost look in James’ eyes and his lips pursed together in thought before he spoke, “You really don’t know who it is do you?”

James shook his head and Leo sighed as he pulled back and took the older man’s hand to lead him back to the bed just after he turned off the bedside lamp, James followed willingly and they lay next to each other with his head on Leo’s chest and Leo’s hand threaded through his hair.

“If you don’t know who he is then how do you know he’s important?”

“I think…“

“You think?”

“I think he was there when I died.”

That came out of nowhere, James isn’t sure why he said it, but once he had somehow it felt like it made sense. He did die, sort of, at some point… he just can’t figure out how or why. Leo didn’t say anything to that regardless of the fact that they never discussed anything that might pertain to James pushing daisies at some point in his life; they just stared up at the ceiling for what felt like forever until the boy spoke.

“You think about him when you’re with me, don’t you?”

“Sometimes, I don’t know why but I think you remind me of him.” James admitted and Leo let out a deep breath, “I figured, you space out on me a lot; I could never tell what you’re thinking about. I guess now I know.”

…

…

“You don’t know who you are either do you, not really anyway.” Leo said and James shook his head, “No.”

“Jesus.” Leo breathed out and James kept going, “Who I am doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter?”

“No.”

“Matters to me.” Leo said and this time he shifted, pulling away from the older man and James just lay still as the boy slipped over so he was straddling his lap and leaned down to kiss him on the lips, “Why?”

“Cause when you like someone, when you care about them. They always matter.” Leo said with a smile and James tilted his head to the side letting his eyes curve around the glow from the lights outside the window of Leo’s room that lit up his face and he couldn’t help but couldn’t help but snort, “You don’t know me.”

“Sure I do.” Leo’s smile grew a little more, “You’re my friend.”

James arched a brow at the boy, “Friends aren’t supposed to sleep with each other.”

“They do if they’re very special friends.”

“Why am I putting up with you again?”

“Because I’m handsome, intelligent, charismatic, have a great sense of humor… I could keep going but that would take all night so let’s just settle for the fact that I’m awesome.” Leo explained with a bright grin and James couldn’t help but laugh before looking up at the boy with a smile that was a little more reserved than the one Leo was giving him, “I wish I could keep you.”

Leo leaned down to give him another kiss but this time didn’t pull away, “I’m not meant to be kept anyway.”

“No?”

“No.” Leo said when his eyes suddenly changed and he gave James a sad smile, “One day when you figure out who you are, you won’t be kept either.”

That was months ago.

Before he found out about HYDRA and Steve and exactly what happened the day his arm was replaced. He still hasn’t forgotten.

There was a sudden crash right against the hangar walls that forced James to come back to the land of the living and they both looked up to find an impressive dent about the size of a car on the steel wall furthest away and Leo sighed, “Adam.”

James looked back and the boy and his lips quirked up in a slight smile, “The guy in the blue suit is… Hercules is Adam? I should’ve known. How-“

“The academy became an agency a while back. Chase and I were going to leave the academy to start on a new mission while Bree and Adam stayed behind but that’s the day Director Fury came in, apparently boss lady gave in a report to SHIELD about students at the academy. They wanted to start replacing the double agents that were working for HYDRA so they picked Adam and me to start with.”

“Boss Lady?”

“Agent Romanoff, a couple of weeks later, Mr. Stark saw me training with her while Adam trained with colonel Rhodes a little after using bionics to fix his legs and asked director Fury to speed up the process so we could start as Avengers.” Leo clarified and James pulled the younger man a little closer before he spoke, “How long did it take you to find out-“

“About you?” James nodded Leo looked away, “A couple of weeks later. I was about to go on my first mission with the Avengers, remember Turkey? Boss lady knew you’d be there with the others so she told me. Figured I should know what I was about to get myself in for.”

“How much did she tell you?”

“Everything.” Leo said and this time he looked up right into the older man’s eyes and James could see flashes of annoyance start to build in those brown eyes and he took a deep breath, he could guess what he was getting upset over.

After all the horrible things he’s done, how could he not be upset?

“Leo-“

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were ninety-nine years old?!”

“Wait what-“

“When we were-you know… I figure that you’d be older like twenty-seven or something but ninety-nine?!” Leo said incredulously and for a moment James was absolutely amused that out of everything Leo found out about him, that’s what bothered him the most. “That’s like six times my age.”

_Six?_

“Six…wait a minute. You were fifteen?!” James glared and Leo cringed, “You told me you were seventeen.”

“Did I look like I was seventeen to you?” Leo said in a deadpan voice and Bucky stared at him in disbelief before Leo finished, “Besides, that doesn’t matter.”

“So, now that I find out you’re jailbait, it doesn’t matter?”

“You never went to jail, well not for sleeping with me anyway.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Exactly, we should forget about this and move on.”

“You’re sixteen.”

“Sixteen, charming and handsome; you’re a hundred, I think we both know who hit it lucky here.”

“How did you turn into an even bigger brat than you were before?”

“It’s a gift.” Leo smirked and James let out a frustrated sigh, he forgot just how frustrating this little shit used to be. The younger man suddenly leaned forward to give him a kiss, “I missed you too.”

And just like that James couldn’t help but smile, honestly Leo’s going to give him a heart attack someday. He was about to return it but Leo spoke before he did-

“So you found Steve?”

Suddenly the mood dropped.

James tensed at the question, somehow he could tell where it was going, “Yeah.”

“And is he your friend?” James nodded letting his head rest on Leo’s shoulder and the boy paused before he asked, “What kind of friend?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Boss lady told me everything, remember?” James’ arms tightened around the boy’s waist, taking in a deep breath and Leo sighed, “That kind huh?”

A moment of silence.

James and Steve are…complicated.

Best friends and they cared about each other a lot; loved one another, so yeah. After James got some of his memories back things between them took a turn. Bucky would be lying if he said nothing happened between them. He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t feel anything for Steve, after all a lot can happen in a year.

“Leo-“

One more sigh, “It’s O.K, remember I’m not a little kid.” Leo said pressing a kiss on Bucky’s head as he pulled away and leaned down to pick up his mask, “I’m just glad you’re doing O.K.” the teen straightened out and a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes as it started tugging at his lips as his head gave a tilt to the side, “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to kick your butt the next time I see you though.”

“You’re O.K with this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” there was a sudden crash that vibrated against the walls and Leo cursed, “Seriously you need to go.”

“What if I’m not O.K with it?”

Leo frowned in confusion, “What?”

“After I left, did you and Chase ever-“

“What? No, of course not! Why would you-“

“And Spider-man?”

“What about him?”

“You said Spider-man’s just a friend.” James said stepping forward and Leo’s frown deepened, “Yeah…”

“What kind of friend?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said.” Leo stared at him incredulously and opened his mouth to speak only for James to cut him off. “Is he a special friend?”

“James-“

“I’m not O.K with it if he is.”

Leo paused, “You don’t have much of a choice in it.”

“What?”

“You don’t see what’s going on right now?” Leo asked waving his left arm to gesture towards the dented wall, “Even if you weren’t involved with… _captain Rogers_ , this wouldn’t work. I work under the law that governs all Avengers. I’m supposed to be bringing you in right now.”

“Then why aren’t you?” James asked as he stepped forward and Leo stayed still, “I can’t, not right now anyway.”

Bucky nodded, “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“You said hate me so much you think you might be in love with me.”

Leo didn’t say anything James took a deep breath as he closed the distance between them, he took the mask from the boy’s hand staring at it as he spoke, “I love Steve, I care about him a lot.” Leo huffed out a heavy breath when James finished, “But it’s different from how I care about you.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning…” James lifted up the mask and secured it onto Leo’s face, this time he could hear the brief click and hiss as locks and air filters locked into place before  he spoke, “If you tried to take me in right now, I’d let you.”

…

“I’m not O.K with it.” Leo said finally in that distorted voice and James smiled, “Good.”

The sounds of shouting got louder, coming from the entrance near the other side of the hangar. They heard a loud crash from inside the room and Leo stepped back, “Remember, next time I’m not letting you off this easy.” Bucky gave a snort since he could almost hear the smirk in Leo’s voice. “Shoot me.”

“What?”

“Ugh.” Leo groaned in frustration and Bucky only had a moment to move before the boy raised his arm and fired an energy blast at him, he ducked out of the way quickly getting the hint as he grabbed a gun from its weapons holster and fired.

Leo raised his shield to block the bullets, but was unprepared for the arrows that came from behind. James’ eyes went wide when-

“Heads up!”

Leo was suddenly snatched right off the floor by a red and blue blur before the arrows could meet their mark and they exploded less than a second later causing bright flashes of light to erupt all over the room and cement cracked loudly as it was ripped apart. Bucky managed fall back and cover his eyes in time, once the flashes stopped he heard gunfire and looked up to see Natasha firing at the shiny red convertible from earlier before Clint appeared and fired an arrow back.

“Did you just try to murder my kid?!”

“They were flash bangs!”

“One of them was a flash-bang, the other one was C4.”

Clint fired another arrow that Natasha easily dodged, “Well, if you trained him right then your apprentice should be able to take care of himself.”

“You’re just mad that I got one before you did.”

Friendship goals.

Bucky scanned the room and caught sight of Leo and Spider-man up on the ceiling, but only had a moment before he was suddenly under attack, bright red laser fire came out of nowhere and Bucky had to duck out of the way and he looked back to find a tall figure dressed in black and blue.

“Adam?”

The figure paused and spoke in the same distorted voice that Leo did, “Whoa are you psychic?”

“Adam, focus!” came the shout from the War Machine as he flew into the room firing at Scarlet Witch while she blocked the shots and other figures quickly started filling the hangar, “Right!”

Bucky didn’t even have the time to smirk in amusement when Adam was suddenly firing heat vision at him again, briefly from the corner of his eye; he caught sight of Leo actually clinging to Sam’s back midflight as he forced the soldier down to the ground and for a moment. It was hard trying to see that snarky little brat that used to follow him around the academy going on and on about comic books and rambling on about how cool his arm is.

Leo’s different.

He ducked out of the way when a punch suddenly came his way, spinning around to grab Adam’s arm and throw him to the ground. Looking up just in time to see Leo and Sam hit the concrete floor, rolling with the impact until they stopped with Leo straddling Sam’s back pinning both arms behind his back before he quickly pulled a pair of cuffs from one of the small weapons holster’s on the side and locking them tight.

“Damn it.” Sam hissed in frustration.

“Yup, I’m awesome.” Leo looked up just then and lifted his right hand to flip James off, just before Black Panther forced the boy to pull away when he suddenly attacked and the ex-assassin rolled his eyes.

Nope, still a brat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, they were hiding out in an abandoned warehouse near the border to Kazakhstan.

They got away, managed to avoid getting arrested although Sam pouted for hours after Clint started teasing him about the kid that managed to catch him and get him hogtied in less than fifteen seconds.

They’ll leave a few days from now, with all the attention they attracted at the air field, they couldn’t risk trying to leave the country just yet. Not even with Prince T’Challa’s help.

Bucky was sitting in the office of the abandoned warehouse upstairs, cleaning and reloading his guns as the sun slowly started to rise and warm light started to fill the dusty room when a voice suddenly spoke.

“Can’t sleep?”

Bucky didn’t look up as he cocked the nine millimeter pistol in his hand and the slide slid back into place with a satisfying clack before he spoke, “Something like that.”

“You’ve been quiet since we got here.”

This time Bucky looked up to find Steve standing in the door, leaning against the door jab in his Captain America suit, without the mask on and he set the gun down to start on the next one as he spoke.

“Did you know?”

“About what?”

“About Leo. Did you know he was under that mask?”

“The red one?” Steve sighed, “I wasn’t sure at first. Before this Nat told me that she saw potential in him, she said SHIELD had this… program and she’d go get him first chance she got, Director Fury hinted at the fact that he wanted me to be the one training Adam but then well you know… I didn’t realize who it was till I saw him fighting T’Challa and he did this move I saw him do at the academy.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“You never talk about him Bucky.” Steve said clearly as he stood up straight and stepped into the room, “I told you that I saw Leo at the academy and you stonewalled on me. After I realized who it was, I called Natasha, she told me not to say anything. She said that first time in Turkey she told him you’d be there and he was off, so she said it’d be better if you didn’t know. That Leo’ll tell you himself if and when he wants to.”

James let out a deep breath as he set the gun down and leaned forward on the table, “What if I’d killed him Steve?”

 Steve frowned, “You’re not like that anymore.”

James didn’t say anything to that as he looked down at the guns he had lined up and Steve stopped just beside the table, “He told you?”

James shook his head, “He said some stuff and I pulled off his mask.”

“Oh…”

Silence, James looked up out the window as the sun continued to rise and Steve sat down in the vacant chair in front of him, not paying attention to the dust that had settled on the seat. “Somehow you seemed better today after we left. He makes you happy?”

Bucky gave a snort, “The little shit drives me insane.”

Steve watched his childhood friend for a moment and couldn’t help but smile as he spoke, “That means he’s good for you. One day, when this is over, you’ll be good together.”

“If this ever ends… You like him?”

“He seems like a good kid.” Steve shrugged when he saw the look on Bucky’s face and shifted a bit in his seat, scrutinizing. He meant more with that question than just what Steve thought of the boy.

The super soldier sighed, “You’re my best friend Buck, what happened between us just… happened. As long as you’re happy then it’s fine, besides you’re a little old for me.” Steve joked with a laugh and Bucky let out a groan, “God you sound just like him. You know he got pissed cause I didn’t tell him how old I was despite the fact that he didn’t tell me he was fifteen when we met.”

“Wait a minute-" Steve’s face twisted in shock, “He was fifteen! I knew he was young but… damn it Bucky?!”

“I didn’t know alright, he told me he was seventeen.”

“That’s still underage, definitely jailbait.”

“Only in some states.”

Bucky grabbed the gun he’d been working on earlier with a quiet growl to start all over again and it was silent for a moment when-

“What about his brother?”

“Adam?” Steve nodded, Bucky shrugged, “If Leo was telling me the truth then he should be what eighteen-nineteen I think.”

“Oh.” Steve said with a nod and James glanced up at him with his eyes narrowed in thought, the blonde just looked down at the table drawing a line with his finger along the dusty patch near the edge before Bucky’s eyes filled with realization and he all but gaped.

“No...”

“What?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow at him, “Jailbait huh?”

Steve flushed.

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: yeah, I feel like this one was more out of character than the last but it works with what I was going for.
> 
> Please review


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